A tragic week on the roads in Cumbria

It has been a tragic few days on the roads of our county, which was the reason for my first "Quote of the day" urging people to drive carefully.

On Tuesday Dr Christopher David Lightfoot, aged 41, from Bristol died from injuries sustained in an accident on the A590 near Gilpin Bridge a week ago today (2nd September) having been taken to the Royal Preston Hospital after the incident.

Early yesterday morning Jamie Armstrong, aged 30, from Haltwhistle, was fatally injured in a collision between his car and an HGV near the Stainmore Café on the A66.

In recent years the number of people killed on Cumbria's roads has gradually been dropping - in the last year for which I have been able to find figures, 2014, there were 26 people killed in road traffic accidents in the county, which was the lowest death rate on our roads for five years and about half the death rate on the county when I moved here twelve years ago.

But that was still 26 people too many.

And this week's tragic deaths demonstrate that our roads need to be treated with respect, especially on filthy days like today when the roads are wet or icy, or when visibility is impaired.

Figures suggest that the A595 is the most dangerous road in Cumbria with the A66 on which Jamie Armstrong died yesterday second in the league for accidents and the A6 as the third most dangerous road on the county.

All of us - you, me, everyone -  who drives on these roads, and all the other roads in Cumbria, needs to take care. Don't let your name be the next to appear in an article or post like this one.

Comments

Jim said…
But the question again and again has to be raised,

why oh why are these roads like this? people here have paid and paid and paid again to do something about it (in terms of fuel duty and VED) not to mention the VAT on the fuel duty people have also been paying for years.

The amount of money that has been paid these roads should be 6 lanes each way and paved with diamonds.


its things like this that drive me mad, When I instruct a contractor to fix my driveway, I expect to come home to a fixed driveway, not a bodged guttering on top of my house and a poorly mown lawn.

road tax and fuel duty are for roads. - this is one of the things that really winds me up about so called "public money" - that which it has been paid for is not used for that purpose. I think every tax should be ring fenced for its own purpose, and if in a time of need it needs to be spent elsewhere then fine, just ask first.
4:51 pm
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